When using stationary machine systems, particularly in the industrial and service technologies sectors, measures are taken in order to organize internal and external cable installations as efficiently as possible. In this situation, the aims include optimization of cable lengths and technical considerations, observance of safety requirements, etc. In this situation, the cables can for example take the form of power cables, control cables, cables for carrying gaseous and liquid fluids, in order to provide the device with the appropriate resources or the requisite data. As a result of using a device or robot with at least restricted mobility, cable guidance is made more difficult because for example the location of the device is variable or, if applicable, parts of the device connected to the cabling are pivot-mounted. The cabling must thus also be suitable for a change in position of the equipment or be designed such that no undesired interaction occurs between cabling and device and that a reliable connection is maintained. This difficulty is relevant for example to robots in manufacturing industries and also to equipment in medical engineering.
Basically, the mobility of a device has associated cost benefits since the same device can be used for the same tasks at different locations. In medical engineering in particular costs can be reduced through the use of a variable stand, in other words variable in respect of location and/or function, since it can be used for different tooling fixtures. A C-arm for X-ray diagnosis or also a patient table for example can be regarded as tooling fixtures in the field of medical engineering.
Further tooling fixtures are additionally conceivable. Other tooling fixtures can for example include mechanical arms, transport units, welding equipment, laser devices, etc. To be taken into consideration in this situation are basically all the tooling fixtures which can be used for exchangeable usage on a displaceable and/or rotatable equipment stand.
A cable guide between a fixed equipment part and a moving equipment part is known from the patent specification DD 236 832 A1, whereby a pretensioned tension spring in which the cable is guided is arranged between the two equipment parts. The length of the tension spring in the coiled state corresponds to the minimum spacing between the two equipment parts, whereby an opening for the cable is situated on the fixed equipment part, behind which opening a storage facility for spare cable is provided. One disadvantage of this cable guide lies in the tension spring present which always spans the space between the opening and the applicator, and thus on the one hand constitutes an obstacle in the space and on the other hand restricts the range of the moveable equipment within the space as a result of the mechanical load capacity of the tension spring. Furthermore, on account of the disarray of the cable in the storage facility the possibility of knotted and entwined cables cannot be excluded, which if this situation occurs can impair a movement of the applicator.
An X-ray diagnostic system with an adjustable X-ray tube, an adjustable imaging system, and a patient table as the system components and a control device for the system components is known from the patent specification EP 0 220 501 B1. In this situation, certain system components are mounted by means of sockets on the floor, ceiling and wall, on which are located levers with a power-operated rotation and swivel capability in the manner of robot arms, in order to allow universal use as far as possible. The disadvantage of this invention is the fact that the action radius of the robot arms is limited to their arm length, and these cannot be freely displaced in the space.